4 Ways to Grind Coffee Beans Without a Grinder

Whether you accidentally bought whole beans instead of pre-ground coffee, or you’ve been given whole bean coffee as a present, you can still enjoy your coffee without having to own a grinder. Recently, I faced a dilemma like this while visiting my parents. They aren’t coffee drinkers and only have a coffee maker for the benefit of their guests (and their coffee-loving daughter, of course). So when the only bag of coffee I found on my last visit was a bag of whole beans, I panicked for a second. Then I did some research and found I could easily grind that coffee without the help of a grinder.

Here are some of the ideas I found in my research over at wikiHow (I used the first idea to great effect!):

Use a Blender: just toss those beans in there (grind about a tablespoon per cup of coffee you’d like to make) and blend them on the pulse setting.

Use a Mortar and Pestle: this method may take a while, but it should work. Start with just a few beans at a time and add more as you go.

Hammer Your Beans: put beans in a high-quality plastic freezer bag, then put that package between towels. The use a meat-tenderizing mallet or regular old hammer to crush the beans.

Unless you have a remarkably steady hand, the crushed grounds will not be of consistent size. They may not result in the finest cuppa joe you’ve ever made, but you can still use them and they’ll be fine.

Roll Your Beans: preparing the beans the same way you would for a hammer, use a rolling pin (or any sturdy bottle or food can) to roll over the plastic bag full of beans until they’re crushed.